Premature Walbro Failure

[turbojimmy]

he will have it tomorrow and is going to disect it.

Mike,

Let us know what they find out. My first Walbro lasted 6 years. My second "Walbro" lasted 6 months. It did the same thing you described - was find cruising around but at WOT fuel pressure dropped off. I suspect it was a knock-off. I bought it from a low-cost, non-Buick vendor. I replaced it with a Walbro from a Buick vendor and haven't had any trouble with the new one.

Jim

 

[RUQWKNF]

Bingo!!!

There is a much larger 300+ litre/hr pump made in Germany but we cannot get it here.... yet. We are working on that now.
Mike

That's the one I was thinking about. Excellent. I'm sure it would be a big hit for all of us crazy Buick nuts out there.

Let's see, that super pump, plus alky, plus a maxed out 67 turbo, plus a full bolt on stock motor.... There goes my GoFastitis flaring up again.....
:biggrin:

Keep up the great work Mike and Thanks.


Patrick

 

[BlackoutDrunk]

any word yet? I want to change my fuel pump but want to wait on some results or a possible alternative.

 

[nos487]

I am going to wait also.

 

[Roger]

My 307 is over 10 years old. Boght it from Mike.

 

[t-topflyer]

from what i've seen so far if you are 2+ yrs or older you should be good.

 

[wbrophy]

Question??

Does anyone know how long the knock off pumps have been on the market?

 

[t-topflyer]

Does anyone know how long the knock off pumps have been on the market?

at least since jan 07.....>1yr....if you have a pump that is 2+ yrs old leave it you should be okay

 

[at7we2]

great. I just installed a new 340 about a month ago. I bought it from one of our major vendors (honestly can't remember who I purchased it from at the moment)

forgive me if this has already been posted and I missed it, but is it possible that even though they are still manufactured here, maybe Walbro has changed suppliers for one small component, like a seal?

 

[nos487]

Who has the best warranty on these pumps? That will help decide to buy now or later.

 

[Junior Samples]

I've got one I ordered form Mike back at the start of the year that has not even been out of the box, if you're interested. I just bought it as a back up.

(Still running an OLD Reds XP pump on mine at this time, LOL!)

Mike W,

Hang on to it bud, I may need to borrow it for my swap as soon as we can hook up to do a little more testing to reconfirm the loss of pressure I think IM having, as Mike L stated, WOT it falls off.

Right now its on again off again but IM not going to take any chances kicking it down with the hopes its a "on again"

Maybe someone on the inside there found a more cost effective part they have been importing to off set the higher cost of production and that mysterious part is helping to cause the failures?

 

[Jerryl]

............... Maybe someone on the inside there found a more cost effective part they have been importing to off set the higher cost of production and that mysterious part is helping to cause the failures?

If I was a betting man, that would be where my $$$ would be.
Seen it many times (Fake Material certs)
I have seen outsourcing of some seriously high risk parts to China, and I can tell you stories. The findings were amazing! Back to topic .......

Can't wait to see what Walbro says on the cause, and if they think the "low % of failures" are acceptable.

 

[87natl]

Mike W,

Hang on to it bud, I may need to borrow it for my swap as soon as we can hook up to do a little more testing to reconfirm the loss of pressure I think IM having, as Mike L stated, WOT it falls off.

Right now its on again off again but IM not going to take any chances kicking it down with the hopes its a "on again"

Maybe someone on the inside there found a more cost effective part they have been importing to off set the higher cost of production and that mysterious part is helping to cause the failures?

OK, but if we put my new pump on your car and it blows your motor, I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE!!!!!!!!

 

["Turbo-T"]

at least since jan 07.....>1yr....if you have a pump that is 2+ yrs old leave it you should be okay

That's scary.

I purchased a pump from a vendor here, in Feb of this year. I sure hope it wasn't a cheapie knock off. FWIW I paid $99 for it.

 

[Bweavy]

That's scary.

I purchased a pump from a vendor here, in Feb of this year. I sure hope it wasn't a cheapie knock off. FWIW I paid $99 for it.

You bought it from me. If anyone has bought a walbro from Gbodyparts & had a failure I would like to know about it please. I have only had to warranty one due to shipping damage.

 

[nos487]

Hey Brian, Do you offer any kind of warranty on your pumps? If you do I will buy tonight.

 

[Eticket]

Before you read below, understand that I have never had an issue with a Walbro 307 or 340 and I've run about 3 in two different cars. Changed them out before any serious racing was to happen. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I think what I've observed is warranted enough.

I spent 5 years at a Chevy dealer and distinctly remember a mass of fuel pumps dying in the mid 90's and read bulletins on instructions for technicians to clean the contacts on the terminals that go through the sender's metal top. Basically these prongs get corroded and cause intermittant connections and that was what was cause the GM pumps to fail.

From this info during this time, a good friend with a high 10 sec GN went through a couple of fuel pumps in just a year (if I remember correctly). The last pump he replaced, we cleaned those terminals and he didn't have a problem again - later selling the car.

On my 2 cars I've had, I've run 10/12 gauge hot and ground wires all the way through the sender directly to the wires on the pump connector. My thought is that the hotwire kits sold today never (interestingly) hotwired "all the way to the pump"... the weakness connections were still there, 1) at the pronged connectors at the top of the sender and 2) at the 3 wire connector at the back of the car.

I liken this connector problem - just like an audio speaker blowing that doesn't have enough wattage to support the motor. The pump is loaded and "wants" to put out the volume required, but is limited and draws as many amps as it can through a crap connection. In a closed environment, the pump just won't spin as fast, but this doesn't apply exactly because it's a little different having pressured fuel on one side continually loading a pump... "I think".

FWIW, here is where the double pumper setup makes up for this deficiency. Double pumpers will have that additional wire through the sender to turn on with the second pump. Since, 99% of us have cars in which 1 340 will support 95% of our power, then the second pump coming on is a little more than a security blanket.

Again, this is very limited experience myself, but I think it makes sense anyway. Check your connections!

 

[at7we2]

good post John! good info.

I think I might pull my new 340 and rework those connections and see how it does.

Rob

 

[Mike Licht]

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/ge...111-walbro-pump-issues-we-need-your-help.html

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Interesting!

I just returned from the local NAPA store. I heard an "interesting" conversation, between the counter person, and a fone customer.
Seems they are looking for a replacement pump for a late model Chevy Silverado.
The counter said " we can get 2 brands, but are seeing many problems w/ the CARTER replacement part. I can get the OEM, DELCO pump, or you can take a chance, and use the Carter". Customer said he'd call back!

Walbro making the pumps for Carter??
Then, I see this post:
"I spent 5 years at a Chevy dealer and distinctly remember a mass of fuel pumps dying in the mid 90's and read bulletins on instructions for technicians to clean the contacts on the terminals that go through the sender's metal top. Basically these prongs get corroded and cause intermittant connections and that was what was cause the GM pumps to fail."

Maybe, the independent shop techs are not privy to the bulletin mentioned, and the real cause is the connectors???
The mystery continues.....